Sir Paul McCartney has revealed he has still to visit his childhood home since it was saved for the nation.

The former Beatles star said he was "a little worried" about the memories it may unlock if he heads back to the property at 20 Forthlin Road in Liverpool.

The home was bought by the National Trust and fans can make a pilgrimage to the terraced house along with the Mendips home of John Lennon.

In the interview with Radio 4's The Food Programme to be broadcast on Sunday, Sir Paul discusses his memories of food while growing up in the house, which was acquired for the nation in 1995.

Asked why he has not been back, he says: "I don't know why - I don't know whether I will be a little worried that it'll be too nostalgic or whether there will be a sadness about it that I don't associate with it at the moment. But I think I will one of these days."

Sir Paul, who has been a notable vegetarian since the 1970s, recalled the "traditional" food he ate as a child. He talked about his regular Sunday roast, although his mother would serve her Yorkshire puddings as a dessert rather than as a savoury side-dish.

And he remembered being horrified when his mother prepared tongue for the family. "I remember vividly tongue arriving and she was trying to vary our diet and it was 'no way am I going to touch that' - because it was a tongue," Sir Paul tells presenter Sheila Dillon. He pointed out there had been no effort to disguise the dish.

His mother Mary died when he was 14 and he said the food was less memorable when he, his father Jim and brother Mike were living in the house without her.

Sir Paul said the food was "only good when my aunties came round and they would cook a proper meal".

The interview coincides with his late wife Linda's vegetarian food range being given a new push, with a TV ad campaign and new products. The ex-Beatle is also publicising the idea of taking a break from animal products with "meat-free Mondays".